Australia’s big but unloved companies will test investors’ mettle

It’s difficult to get excited about this year’s share price prospects for most of the heavyweight companies that dominate the Australian market – including our major banks where the winner’s trophy could come down to the one with the least bad performance.

For the major superannuation funds and the big international investors that load up on only the biggest companies that inhabit the index, it’s likely to be slim pickings among the blue chips.

The list of the top ten listed Australian stocks is dominated by our four big banks, biotech giant CSL, the big miners Rio Tinto, BHP, and Fortescue, plus the two dominant supermarket retailers Woolworths and Coles.

Who wins the performance race among the big four banks?Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

For the retail investors that cluster heavily in the banks and in particular in the Commonwealth Bank, 2026 is shaping up as a follow-on from the second half of 2025, where the CBA’s three competitors play share price catch up.

There is no overarching theme that provides for meaningful growth in bank earnings this calendar year – rather a continuation of the competitive landscape and the likelihood of the Reserve Bank keeping

visit website